Scutching machine



Nov. 25, 1941. E, PAT ERSON 2,263,591

SCU'ICHING MACHINE Filed June 9, 1959 6 SheetsSheet 1 Y- 1941- D. E. PATTERSON SCUTCHING MACHINE Filed Ju ne 9, 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 25, 1941. D. E. PATTERSON 2,263,591

SCUTCHING MACHINE Filed June 9, 1939 a Sheets-Sheet s Ii Hi1! "."llllll lllllllllllllllllilu WW a Mg!" 76 O 76'\- 0 77 26 60 14 i [1w 12%; WEPJQSOE Nov. 25, 1941. D. E. PATTERSON scuwcnme MACHINE Filed June 9; 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov.25, 1941. D. E. PATTERS'bN 2,263,591

. V 'SCUTCHING-MACHINE 1 Filed June 9, 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov- 25, 194 D. E. PATTERSON.

SCUI'CHING MACHINE Filed June 9 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Nov. 25, 1941 scurcnmo- MACHINE David E. Patterson, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Consolidated Fibre Products,

Limited, Nassau,

Bahama Islands, a corporation of the Bahama Islands Application JuneS, 1939, Serial No. 279,132

3 Claims. -(Cl. 19- 5) This invention relates to improvements inapparatus for treating fibrous material and particularly to. apparatus for liberating the fibre from fibrous plants such as flax, hemp, jute,

ramie, and the like.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a new and improved form and arrangement of parts for improving the scutching action of apparatus of the above type. y

In treating some fibre bearing plants it is desirable to dry the stalks so that the inner woody portions shall be brittle when they undergo the scutching operation. Flax, hemp, ramie, jute, and the like, which have the woody portions inside the fibrous exterior are of this type of plant.

In plants such as ramie, which have an outer bark covering the fibres in addition to the inner woody portion, it is desirable to wet or scald the stalks-to remove the outer bark, then to dry the stalks so that the. inner woody portion shall be brittle when they undergo the scutching operation. i

In other. plants of the hard fibre types, such as sisal, manila, hemp, pita, it is desirable to scutch the plants wet with a plentiful flow of water to wash away the external and internal gums which bind the fibres.

It is an object of my invention to make-a machine which can be used to decorticate or scutch fibrous-bearing plants 01 various kinds, whether a wet or dry process is required, said machine being provided with means allowing variation of the process and flexibility of use of the machine to suit particular requirements in various places and countries.

Another object is to condition the materials as they pass through the apparatus toward the scutching elements, by subjecting the materials to means for drying or wetting them, as may be required by the, particular material being treated.

Another object is to provide means to subject the material to the combing and cleaning action of air or water while it is undergoing treatment by the scutching elements.

Another object is to provide means to even up the buttends of the stalks, as the material is conveyed into the apparatus, and to intermittently feed the aligned stalks into the apparatus.

ing and shaking action to thoroughly cleansethem to remove the shives or hurds therefrom.

with it;

Other objects and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art as my invention is described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is an elevational section view taken along line l-I of Fig. 2 of a scutching machine 'embodying the principles of my invention;

5--,5 of Fig. 1 and showing the relation of the.

breaker bar and the beater which cooperates Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section view taken along line, 5-4 of'Fig. 1; v

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical section view taken along line 1-1 of Fig. 1 and showing the steam rollers; Figs. 8, 9 and lO'are detail section views showing diagrammatically the relation oi. the feed rollers and rotary scutching devices and breaker bar, with the scutching devices in three different positions apart;

Fig. 11 is a. detail perspective view showing a stalk passing between the crushing and holding rollers;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view of a rotary scutching device;

.Fig. 13 is a detail perspective view of a blade whichmay be used with the scutching device of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a section view partly broken away, taken along line I 4- of Fig. 1;

' Referring now to the drawings, the machine is housed within a casing having several hinged covers which may be raised to expose the in-' terior mechanism, as will hereinafter be more particularly described. Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 14, the machine may conveniently be mounted upon a mobile chassis comprising wheels III on axles ll, channel girders l2 supported upon the axles II, and supporting channel beams 13 running transverse to the axle girders and joining them. Supported upon the beams l3 are posts ll which support the framework of the machine and most of the machine parts. For the purpose of supporting that portion of the apparatus which is designed to subject the material fed to the machine to either heat or water treatment, beams I! are secured upon two of the main supporting beams is, as shown in engaged pin and arm and the stop plates will again be rotated through 90 into a vertical position to stop the feed of the stalks. From the foregoing, it may be seen that the spacing between the lugs which turn the plate 33 horizontal and those that turn it vertical againshould be at least the length of the stalks which are being structure and connected with the machine in anysuitable fashion.

The conveyor and stalk feed control device The material is fed to the machine by the feed conveyor, which comprises a pair of spaced rotating rollers, such as 20, which are mounted upon axles, such as 2|, supported in bearing brackets 22 mounted upon the beams l6. Passing around the rolls 20 are flexible belts 23 upon which are secured a plurality of closely spaced parallel transverse slats 24 upon which the stalks S of the material to be treated may be laid by hand. The rolls 23 may be driven by any suitable mechanism (not shown) and may be connected together by a chain 25 passing over sprocket wheels 28 mounted upon the axles 2|.

A take-of! conveyor, designated generally by the numeral 30, similar in principle and general construction to that just described, may be employed to remove the fibres resulting from treatment of the stalks by the machine. V

'For the purpose of regulating and controlling the feed of the stalks to the'machine, a control device is provided. This device may be mounted upon a pair of vertical frames 21 on opposite sides of the machine and supported by the beams l3 and made of inclined angle members joined at their tops by a horizontal angle bar. Upon these frames may be mounted bearing brackets 21b in which are supported aligned horizontal stub shafts 23, on one end of which is mounted a four-armed rotary member 23. On the end of the arms are pins 3| extending in a direction parallel to the shafts 23 and in position to be n aged by lugs 32 secured to the chain 25 in a manner and for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter. For the purpose of haltin the stalks S as they are conveyed along toward fed to the machine.

In order to hold the plate 33 in the'position into which it is turned by one chain lug 32 until another lug causes the plate to turn again, a disc M may be affixed to the shaft .28 and provided with peripheral notches spaced 90 apart into which a pawl may drop. The .pawl P may be pivotally mounted on an arm N extending from the upper part of the frame 2?, in position to drop by gravity into one or another of the notches as the disc M turns. As the succeeding lug engages the member 29'the pawl will be lifted out by the turning action of the disc.

Preliminary treatment of material Within the housing of the machine and sup-' ported upon the beams I5 .is the portion of the apparatus which subjects the material to a preliminary treatment involving either heat or pressure or both, or heat or pressure and water treatment. The type of treatment will depend on the raw material. The apparatus for subjecting the material to this treatment may be mounted upon any suitable framework (not shown in detail).

As the material leaves the 'feed conveyor, it passes between upper and lower steam chests 40 and 42 which are provided with live steam connections (not shown) and may be of such length as to subject the material to heat for the proper length of time considering the speed at which the the machine by the feed conveyor, a stop or ab'ut-.

ment plate 33' is, secured between and to the shafts 28 in position to extend in diametrically plate 33 to rotate through 90. After such rotation the lug 32 will have cleared the pin 3i and will continue on its way with the chain 25. The abutment plates will then be in horizontal position as shown in dotted lines at 33a in Fi 3. In this position of the plates, the stalks are permitted to passon by action of the conveyorinto the machine. At a subsequent time, determined by the position at which another lug is attached on the chain, such lug, similar to 32, will engage the pin 3| on the arm following the previously material is passed through the machine. The steam chests will be equal in width to the machine width. Upon passing out from between the steam chests, the materialis fed to three rollers 44, and 48 which are mounted transversely of the machine, the roller 44 being above and having its axis betweenrollers- 46 and 48 which are lower and have theiraxes horizontally spaced. The upper roller 44 rests on the lower rollers, 48 and has its ends supportedby a bearing member 45 embracing the upper half of the end of that roller. The hearing may be supported for vertical movement in the parts 49 of the frame and a leaf spring 50 whose tension may be ad- Justed by an adjustment bolt 52 located in the top of the framework of this portion of the machine may bear on the bearing members 45 to apply pressure to the roll 44. The rollers 44, 46 and 48 may; and preferably are, hollow and are provided with connections to steam conduits 54.

Suitable packing glands may be provided, such as a sleeve '56, taking into a collar 55 in the hollowed out end of the roll 44 which is reduced and extends into the bearing member 45, which may only bear against the upper surface of the hub of roll 44. The sleeve 56 may be secured to the conduit 54 and packing 58 may prevent escape of steam. Since the pressure of the roll 44 on the rolls 46 and 48 may be adjusted and since the temperature of the steam chests and the steam rollers may also be regulated by supplying high or low temperature steam, the amount of heat and pressure to which the ma- I terial vis subjected in passing throughthis portion of theapparatus may be varied .to suit the particular condition of the material being treated.

As the material passes from between the steam 'from the machine framework. The tank may be filled with air under pressure or with water or steam, depending upon the treatment to which the material is to be subjected. The chest 60 'is provided in its lower surface with a row of openings or nozzles directing the jets or currents of air, steam or water, on the material passing below. In the case of air treatment, the currents of air will tend to remove moisture which may be remaining after the heat and pressure to which the material had previously been subjected. The air blast and the pressure of the rolls 64 and 96 which are cool tends to cool off the material and to make the inner woody portion of stalks of flax, hemp or ramie type very brittle and easy to break up into small sections or shives in the subsequent scutching operation.

After the material receives its treatment under the air tank 60, it passes to flattening rollers 84 and 66 which are located one above the other with the roller 64 adjustable vertically. A spring 65, whose tension is adjustable by an adjustment bolt 68,-presses upon the bearing of the roll 64 so that the pressure of the roll 64 upon the roll 66 may be varied. The bearings of the rolls will be located in the framework of the machine and their construction need not be described in detail. The rolls 6B and 64 only supply enough pressure to flatten the stalks which are then fed to a pair of rollers 10 and 12 whose surfaces are corrugated and serve only to hold the material as it passes over a breaker bar 14 to scutching devices presently to be described. The rollers 10 and I2 are located in vertical alignment and may have their bearings supported in the framework of the machine with the upper roller adjustable. I have found it desirable to present the stalks in unbroken condition to the scutching devices; Therefore the corrugated rolls are set" for each material so as to exert the leastainount of pressure it is possible to exert and still hold the stalks firmly, it being the purpose of these rolls to hold but not to break the stalks. 1

The breaker bar 14, over which the stalks are fed to the heaters or scutching device, is a flat steel bar with a tapered edge, and is mounted upon a vertical portion 16a of a supporting structure or carriage 16, of which a horizontal portion lies upon and slides over a horizontal supporting plate 11. Plate 11 rests upon angle brackets 18 secured to the posts ll of the machine framework. The horizontal portion of the carriage I6 is provided with slots 80 through which pass adjustment bolts 82, by means of which the carriage may be secured in various positions of adjustment. The vertical portion 16a of carriage 16, on which the break-'- er bar 14 is secured, preferably by welding, has

one end higher than the other so that the breaker bar is higher at one endthan at the other. As will hereinafter be more particularly described, the breaker bar is adapted to cooperate with a rotary scutching device which rotates upon a horizontal axis and which has straight edges which rotate in a cylindrical path. By reason of the difference in elevation ofthe ends of the breaker bar, the striking action of the scutching device upon the stalks passing over the edge of the breaker bar progresses from one end to the other gradually. This progressive striking action avoids the severe strain on the beaters and breaker bar which would occur if the stalks were struck all at one time.

The rotary scutching devices The devices which actually accomplish the.

breaking up of the woody portion of the stalks into small sections or shives and separate the shives from the fibrous portion of the stalks consists of four rotary members or heaters 90, 92. 94, 96 which are identical inconstruction. Two of these devices 90, 92 have their axes of rotation horizontally spaced and vertically aligned with the other two 94, 96 of the devices. The

two lower devices also have their axes in hori-' zontal alignment. The devices which are in vertical alignment thus form successive pairs which cooperate with each other andbeat, shake and scrape the fibrous material passingbetween them in such a manner as to remove the shives therefrom. h I

Each rotary scutching device or beater comprises a parallel-walled structure as may best be seen by reference to Figs. 8-, 9, l0and 12. Since the devices are identical, a description of one will sufiice. Referring to the beater 94 it will be noted (see .Fig. 12) that opposite walls are parallel to each other and that two walls (A and B) are wider than the remaining two (0 and D). Each of the walls has an overhanging ledge. 'The overhanging portions E and F of the walls A and B are separate parts which are secured to or welded to the remainder of the wall. These parts comprise the breaking edges of the beater. In order that leafy materials, such as sisalmay, be treated in the apparatus, breaking edges E of the type shown in Fig. 13, with serrated borders, may be used instead of the straight breaking edges illustrated in Fig. 12. i

It will be noted that the walls forming beater enclose a hollow interior. novel features of my invention is the provision of connections to this interior whereby it may be filled with any fluid desired to assist in the scutching operations. All, water, steam or other fluid may be used as the occasion requires. For

the

the purpose of applying the fluid to the materia a row of ducts or holes G is made in the plates 0 and D beneath the breaking edges E and F.

'At their-ends, the rotary heaters have walls H (see Fig. 14) on which are hubs K which are adapted to turn in suitable bearings 91 in the machine frame. One hub of each device will preferably be bored to permit connection therewith of a conduit through which the air, steam or water may be fed to the interior of the beater (see Fig. 14) A collar and suitable packing gland I00 fitting within a recess in the hub K may be provided to maintain a tight joint with a sleeve I02 on the end of the steam, air or water conduit.

In operation, the position of the breaker bar carriage I6 is first adjusted in relation to the breaking edge of the rotary beater 90, it being known that the diameters of the various fibre bearing plants, such as flax, hemp, ramie, jute, and the like, vary considerably and the breaking clearance for one plant might cause damaging of another plant if it were forced through the machine without re-adjustment of the breaking clearance, or failure to properly adjust the clearance might result in the machine failing to clean the fibre satisfactorily.

One of the struck by a breaking edge, such as F, of the rapidly rotating beater 90, the stalks being struck in succession with the striking progressing laterally along the edgeof the beater and breaker bar from one side to the other byreason of the higher elevation of one end of the breaker bar than the other. Preferably the feed ofthe fibre will be adjusted so that the fibre will be struck a second'time by the opposite edge E of the beater when the fibre has progressed linearly an amount equal to its diameter or a distance approximating that amount. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that although this adjustment and breaking distance is the preferred adjustment, nevertheless under some conditions; it may Referring to Fig. 8, it will be noted that as the material is fed over the breaker bar I4, it is the fibre and remove it from the machine. The lower roll I20 is positively driven from any suitable source and at a peripheral speed equal to the speed of the material entering the scutching devices. The top roll H8 rests idly on the lower roll and is driven only by friction with the lower roll so that any tendency to pull the fibre back .when a'wide face comes into action it tends be advisable to increase or decrease the number of strikes by varying the rate of feed or beater speed so that the material will be struck atdls:

stalk. The cooperation of beater 90 with the lower beater 94 may be observed in Figs. -8 and 10.

In Fig. 8 it may be seen that the overhanging edge of the shorter wall D of the upper beater 90 will cooperate with the breaking edge F of the lower beater 94' in such manner that the fibrous material is scraped on both sides by these cooperating portions of the heaters and thereby the shives are loosened and to some extent removed from the fibrous material before the material reaches the second set of heaters 92 and 96 in which a similar operation will cause final cleaning of the material. Referring now to Fig.

tances greater orless than the thickness of the to pull back the fibre slightly. The extent of pull is not great but can be felt if the fibre is held in hand as it leaves the scutching devices. This backward pull of th fibre is important, owing to the fact that the broken and Partly loosened tion of the take-off rolls H8 and I20 takes this shives are scraped or scutched from the outer fibres. This is caused by the heaters revolving in a direction opposite to the backward pull oi the fibres. It is for this purpose that the heaters have major and minor diameters. The construcinto account and saves the fibre from damage.

The delivery from the take-oi! rollers H8 and I2!) is to the conveyor 30 which preferably is inclined and delivers the fibre from its end into a chute I22.

9, it will be noted that the fibre is freed, to some extent, as be'aters rotate into the position shown in Fig, 9 but that the fibre is almost immediately acted upon again as the heaters rotate into the position of Fig. 10, whereinthe breaking edge F of the upper beater 90 cooperates with the overhanging edge oi the wall D of the lower beater 94 to scrape and clean the fibre. It should be noted that this scraping action takes place each time the fibre has advanced a distance equal to the distance between successive strikes on the fibre passing over the edge of the breaker. Thus the fibre is subjectto multiple rubbing, shaking and beating as it passes between the two pairs of rotary scutching devices. The operation oi. the second set of heaters 92 and 96 is quitev similar to that of the first set 90 and 94 except that the material does not pass Over a breaker bar in proceeding into the field of action of the second set.

When the heaters are filled with compressed air, the air will issue from the orifices G continuously and will give a combing effect to the fibre so as to aid the removal of the shives and dust and as a result a cleaner fibre will issue 4 from the machine.

The take-01f mechanism The machine casing Due to the fact that the rotation of the heaters develops considerable air currents which, acting upon the partially cleaned fibre, as well as upon the fibre completely cleaned and issuing from the scutching devices, have a tendency to blow it around in an undesirable manner, I have found it advisable to encase at least the scutching end of the apparatus and to provide vertical bailles in certain positions to control the air currents and to put them to advantageoususe. As may best be seen from-Fig. 1, .a cover I30 is provided at the discharge end of the machine and is hinged at I32 so that it may be raised up for the purpose of inspecting or repairing the scutching devices or other mechanism within the casing. Fora similarpurpose, a hinged cover I36 is provided above the rolls 1! at the inlet end of the machine. Side walls and a top wall may be'provided to enclose the remainder of the machine. In order that the air currents generated by the rotation of the scutching devices shall not act in an undesirable manner upon the material during treatment, vertical baflle plates I35 and I38 are secured to the walls and are positioned to'extend from the top wall of the casing down toward the scutching devices in mid-position between them. The baflie I38 is preferably in vertical alignment with the baflle I36 and may be secured to the walls of the casing.

heaters. From this'take-oflf reel the fibre is delivered to take-off rollers H8 and I20 which are located one above the other in position to receive In order to keep the shives which are driven out-from the fibre by the second set of the beaters 92 and 96 from falling down into the clean- I40 may be provided at the bottom of the machine running over rollers I42 which may be driven by any suitable source of power toremove the shives from the machine.

Operation In operating on jute, flax, hemp and the like, the wet or partly dried stalks of material will be fed into the machine by the conveyor and in passing between the hot steam chests), 42 and being pressed between the hot steam rolls 44, 46, 48, will be materially dried. Then in passing beneath the air tank 60 jets of air will play on the hot fibre, further drying it, and cooling it. The cooling will be carried on further as the stalks contact the cool surface of the rolls '64, 66. Thus in coming to the scutching devices the stalks will be dry andvery brittle. As the stalks pass over the breaker bar 14 the woody portion is broken into small pieces or shives. The shives are removed by the scutching action of the beaters 90, 92, 9 4, 96 and the cleaned fibre is removed by the take-off reel I l and take-off rolls I I8, I20.

pared with many of'the machines of the prior art which were exceedingly large and cumbersome and had to be almost completely dismantled to be moved. Another advantage of the invention'is the abil ity to supply air, steam, water or other fluid for treating the materials when the materials are of such nature as to require water treatment. Thus my invention possesses a degree of flexibility in Air will issue from the scutching devices 90, 92.

94, 96 to aid the cleaning.

In operating on materials requiring wet processing, the material is wet with water issuing from the jets under the tank 60. The water may be hot, or steam'may be used. The remainder.

of the process is the same as described above except that instead of using straight edged beaters the serrated edges of Fig. 13 may behemployed, and except that steam or hot water may be used in the scutching' devices 90, 92, 94, 96,

instead of air.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a machine which is comparatively.

simple in construction but which is extremely effective in operation in cleaning fibre bearing materials of the woody portions. An advantage of this invention is that the machine can be moved around with comparative ease as comuse and-adaptability of all kinds of fibres, which has not been possible in any prior machine.

Many variations within the scope of the invention'will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore I do not limit myself to the more specific embodiments shown and described.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for conveying stalks comprising a moving platform on which the stalks are laid, a

stopplate above the platform in position to be abutted by the stalk ends, means travelling along with said platform, means for operating said stop plate, said travelling means engaging with and actuating said operating means at predetermined intervals to permit passage of a group of stalks and to. replace said stop plate in position to accumulate another group.

'. 2. Apparatus for conveying stalks comprising a moving platform, a stop plate above the platform in position to be abutted by the stalk ends, means to rotate said plate into a horizontal positionto permit passage of a group of stalks, means travelling along with saidplatform and engaging with said rotary means to actuate it into successive horizontal and vertical positions for permitting passage and stopping passage of the stalks.

3. Apparatus for conveying stalks comprising a moving platform, chain and sprocket means for driving said platform, a stop plate located above said platform and rotatable into vertical and horizontal positions to stop and to permit passage of stalks, a rotary member for moving said plate, means on said chainengaging with 1 said rotary member to move said plate into its predetermined intervals. 

